Van der Bellen confirmed victor in Austrian presidential vote

VIENNA (Reuters) - The victory of former Greens party leader Alexander Van der Bellen over far-right rival Norbert Hofer in Sunday's presidential election was confirmed by provisional final results released on Tuesday.

A count of postal ballots after Sunday's vote gave Van der Bellen 53.8 percent of all valid votes cast and Freedom Party candidate Hofer 46.2 percent, the Interior Ministry said.

The most closely watched projection, by pollster SORA, had put Hofer on 46.7 percent and Van der Bellen on 53.3 percent.

Hofer conceded defeat on Sunday evening after voters roundly rejected his bid to become the first freely elected far-right head of state in Europe since World War Two.